The Write Christmas Party
by SOUND-Art
Summary: It's Christmas time, it's snowing. Castle, Beckett, Ryan, Esposito and Lanie are celebrating Christmas at the office. However, things become dark when a body is found in the elevator. Snowball fights and lots of humour!
1. Chapter 1

(A NOTE: This fanfiction does contain a small mention of Temperance Brennan, from the TV Drama Show: BONES. I'm not making this a crossover since it only contains mention of her once. =D)

Rain fell steadily from the sky, drumming a rhythmical pattern on the glass windows of the New York Police Department. People rushed past, huddled deep into their jackets, wrapping scarves around their necks and rubbing their hands together to try and keep warm. The wicked wind whistled and howled with a life of its own, sweeping scraps of paper about in a whirlwind amongst the busy streets. A figure hurried down the busy road, their umbrella fighting against the wind, hardly sheltering the person at all. They pushed open the door with force, stumbling into the welcoming warmth of the foyer. Standing impatiently by the lift, they waited for it to open, removing their wet jacket and hurriedly closing the umbrella. Dinging as it arrived, the lift doors opened and the person stepped in. It made its way up, painstakingly slowly, floor by floor. It stopped, and the figure leapt out, as though they were arrived of being swallowed. Walking steadily forwards, they made their way to the main offices of the NYPD.

"Hey, Castle!" yelled Esposito as Castle walked over from the lift. "Where've you been, pal? We were starting to think you were lost," he said, trying to hide the smile that was creeping across his face.

"Castle, 'bout time you got here!" Ryan said, standing up to exaggerate.

"Whoa, sorry guys. Just got caught up in traffic. It's chaos back at my place, cars banked up the road for miles." Castle replied, hanging his wet jacket up on a coat peg, on the far side of the room. He dropped the black umbrella, and it clattered on the wooden floor, forgotten and lifeless. Beckett entered the room, three mugs of steaming hot coffee in her hands.

"Ah, hot coffee. Don't you just love Christmas?" Ryan nodded, looking at the others.

"Hm. Some weirdos think it's the perfect time to murder people," Beckett replied.

"And some writers think it's the perfect time to _plan _how to murder people," Castle added, hastily. Esposito and Ryan laughed, and Beckett tried to look serious.

"Oh, Castle. Did I ever mention? You're like a nine year old on a sugar rush," she said, and this was her time to laugh.

"I do believe that you mentioned something along those lines a while ago indeed," Castle grinned, slurping the coffee.

"Urgh!" he yelled, jumping up. "Why didn't you put any sugar in this?"

"I just told you why, if you'd been listening."

"Oh, come on. You're not _serious?_" he groaned, looking at the coffee in dismay. Ryan clapped as Lanie entered, donning her jacket and umbrella over by Castles.

"Hey everyone," she greeted, standing by Kate Beckett, "looks a snow storm is starting out their tonight. Glad we're all cosy in here," she exclaimed, rubbing her hands together as she leant forward to pick up a piece of Turkish delight from the centre of the table that they were all gathered around. Tinsel hung from the corner of each room, and there were all sorts of toys and gifts gathered on workers desks.

"Yeah. Bet you there'll be a murder or something tonight," Esposito cast his eyes around the table.

"Pfft, yeah right. Wishful thinking, Mr Lazy worker," Beckett laughed.

"In your dreams," Ryan agreed with Beckett.

"I'm with Esposito on this one!" Castle shouted, like an excited child.

"Gosh, settle down, would you Castle?" Lanie muttered, "Beckett is right, you _are _like a nine year old on a sugar rush."

"That's a compliment, at our age, anyhow," he replied, eyes glinting with happiness. Beckett was surprised at this comment, seeming as Castle was only one year older than herself, at 36. The fake grin plastered across her face must have been obvious, as Castle stopped smiling when she made eye contact.

"Yes, and so, the evening continues," he said, quietly. "I was working on my latest book this afternoon, then Alexis came bounding in, bright eyed and bushy tailed."

"Oh, and why's this?" Esposito said, leaning close as though Castle were letting him in on a big secret.

"Well," Castle said, leaning closer as though they were indeed discussing a secret. "She wants to write a book, a murder book. Just like me," he whispered, hoping to create the suspense, "and apparently it's because she spent all afternoon chatting to someone," Castle said, laughing as he tried to keep eye contact with Ryan.

Ryan held up his hands, "I'm innocent. Had absolutely nothing to do with this afternoon's events."

"Oh really?" Beckett said, leaning in as they sat in a close huddle around the small wooden table.

"Sounds like a great book plan to me, Castle," Lanie interrupted.

"Shh!" Ryan and Esposito turned around to signal for Lanie to be quiet.

"Yes, she wants to be a cop, a writer or a forensic investigator. All because of _you_," and at this point, Castle pointed at Ryan.

"Eh, I told you I was innocent!" Ryan laughed, smiling.

"Or maybe it was _you_," Castle said, pointing to Esposito.

"Sorry pal, I wasn't even here this afternoon," Esposito replied, smirking as Ryan started to gasp.

"Shut that mouth of yours, Ryan, a bug'll fly into it in a minute," Lanie said, slapping Ryan on the shoulder.

"Or, perhaps it was you…" Castle said, looking at Lanie.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot to mention that she _did _drop by at one point this arvo. Is it a criminal offence to talk to someone else's daughter?" Lanie laughed.

"No, however, convincing them to drop out of school is!" Beckett joined in laughing. Before they knew it, they were all sitting around merrily chatting about happy memories and their upcoming plans for the new year.

"10 new year resolutions," Esposito said, "being 2010 and all."

"Like that idea. Could you fit 'work' on that list somewhere?" Beckett said, as the wicked wind battered against the windows. They shook and rattled in their frames, making the evening chillier than it already was. It grew later and later into the evening, as time slipped past as though it were water in a storm water drain. The wind became more wicked, grabbing the building with its imaginary hands. Thunder started to rumble in the distance, and it paused conversation.

"That was thunder?" Ryan asked and a hint of worry flashed across his eyes.

"Yes," Beckett replied, nodding. "You know, the thing that happens during the sky in the middle of a thunderstorm?" she said, with emphasis on the thunder part of the sentence.

"Look at that time! We should get going," Castle said, as lightning flashed against the window, the light rippling like a white ribbon, flung through the sky by the dark and bony hand that resembled the sky.

"It's only, what the hell! It's quarter to one in the morning!" Ryan yelled, slamming his fist on the table.

"What?!" Beckett stopped talking to Esposito. "It seemed to be 7pm, like, only fifteen minutes ago!"

"Yep, this is what they mean when they say _time flies._" Castle exclaimed, picking up his jacket and forgotten umbrella.

"I'll never make sense of that, you know. Time, does not fly. It's measured by the clock on the wall, and it shall never fly," Beckett said, thinking of her close friend, Temperance Brennan, who worked at the Jeffersonian Institute in Washington DC.

"In that case, we'd better get going," Esposito said, standing up.

"Hey, who's gonna clean up this place?" Lanie questioned, pointing to the mess that had accumulated on the table where they'd been sitting.

"I'm not," said Ryan, closely followed by Beckett.

"Whatever, we'll do it in the morning when we get to work. It's not as though we're working really hard on a case or anything, there's been nothing coming through for weeks now."

"There's been no murders, no robberies, nothing. You'd have a fair chance at guessing that all the bad guys had stopped to celebrate Christmas this year," laughing, Beckett pressed the elevator button.

_Famous last words, _thought Castle, as they waited for the elevator to arrive. Ryan laughed, and they settled into a dreaded silence as they waited for the lift.

"Come on, this thing needs repairing," Esposito said, jamming the button impatiently.

"We called it a couple of minutes ago, where is it?" Ryan said, starting to sound a little anxious.

"Come on, no need to stress about it. It's probably just been affected by the storm or something, so we'll take the stairs instead," motioning towards the stairs, Beckett pulled Castle's arm as a motion of _come on, stop standing around people. _

If they had waited for the lift, they would have been waiting a terribly long time. Since it sat at the bottom of the elevator shaft, wires sparking at the point of where they'd been cut. A young girl sat in the lift, shaking as she pounded on the stiff doors.

"Somebody, anybody, help me!" she screamed, her voice echoing in the space of the lift, before she broke into even louder sobs.


	2. Chapter 2

As Castle sauntered into the NYPD front office, a swagger in his stride, he didn't spare much thought to the sign stating "Out of Order" on the lift doors. Obviously the first officers who had arrived earlier that morning had realized the lift wasn't working, and had had the sense to spare other people the lengthy waste of time waiting for the lift.

As he started the long climb up the flights of stairs, he paused as he heard a faint high pitched sound. He stopped mid-stride, bag slung over his shoulder and scarf wrapped tightly round his neck. He reasoned with himself, thinking it was only the wind in the empty lift shaft, and continued up the stairs.

Detective Kate Beckett sat hunched over her desk, her pen held with a ferocious grip. She looked like she was determined to finish whatever task she had started, so Castle sauntered over to chat to Ryan.

"Morning Castle. I see the snow was 1 foot deep this morning," Ryan greeted Castle with a cheery smile as he looked up from his computer.

"Good morning! Looks like it's going to be a wonderful day today!" Castle replied, skipping around the water that was dripping from the ceiling.

Esposito stopped as he heard Castle's comment.

"Everything alright with you, Castle? I've never heard anyone say that _snow _is _good._"

Castle stopped to pull a face at Esposito. "Are you telling me you think snow is a bad thing? I mean, how can you think of all the little kids out there, not having any snow to throw at each and to mush into each other's hair?"

It was Esposito's turn to a pull a face, "Those days are long gone, my friend."

"We could easily bring them back," Castle said, his eyes sparkling with the energy of a young kid.

"What…you mean…like…seriously?"

"Well, why not?" Castle grabbed his jacket and scarf and grabbed Esposito's arm.

"Where's Ryan?"

"Somewhere in the off-" Esposito started to say, but never finished as Castle rushed past him into the storeroom.

"Oi. You. Snow Fight. Now." Castle grinned before running out to grab Esposito's arm and drag him down the stairs.

Kate Beckett stood at the window overlooking the New York streets. Snow was softly falling from the dark sky which threatened to unleash rain. She wasn't aware of the yelling that was happening below in the street, or the mysterious yells of "Got you!" Her mind was focused on nothing other than her parent's wedding anniversary.

Castle grabbed a fistful of snow and aimed it in Esposito's direction. The snowball hit it's target and Esposito fell backwards into a pile of snow with a muffled thump.

"A hey!" Castle yelled, "Bulls-eye!" He danced around garbage bin he was hiding behind, anticipating the reaction from Ryan. Ryan's snowball came soon after, with a loud bang as it made contact with the metal skip.

"Damn!"

"Aha! Can't get me, can you Ryan?"

"Wait for it Castle, wait for it!"

Castle started to chuckle when a snowball hit him on the back of his head, the icy drops running down his neck.

"Aw, no fair," Castle turned to see Esposito standing with an enormous grin stressed across his face.

"RICHARD CASTLE! GET UPSTAIRS _RIGHT NOW_!" Beckett's voice carried through the street, echoing off the building sides.

"She had to wreck our fun, didn't she?" Ryan muttered as they brushed the snow of their coats.

"I'm not worried about our fun," Castle replied with a small grin, "I'm worried about our lives."


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for the lovely reviews. They mean heaps. =D This story is going to have a lot of laughter, I hope. Not so much "seriousness" so I'll keep it to the one murder. I don't want to bog it down in gory details, since it's too light-hearted and funny. Beckett may be a bit OOC for parts of this chapter, but Castle is certainly himself. Enjoy, and thanks for the support!**

Castle knew they were in for it before they reached the top of the stairs. Beckett stood with a determined stance, hands on her hips and lips pursed into a thin line.

"What were you doing, Castle?" she queried, her voice dangerously quiet.

Castle cleared his throat. "Uhum, we were, just, playing around," he said, avoiding her glaring gaze.

"Why?" she tapped her hip impatiently and her knuckles turned white as she clenched her hand.

"Why not?" Castle knew it was risky saying this, but he took the chance.

Beckett exploded into a fit of anger, and Castle restrained from laughing as he imagined curls of smoke wafting from _Nikki Heat's _hair. He repeated in his mind, again and again, _Not funny, not funny; don't laugh if you want to be alive tomorrow, not funny…_

"You were irresponsible, Richard Castle. We are an organization that prides ourselves on being efficient and organized, NOT being stupid and acting like a child!"

Castle looked towards the ground, at the threadbare carpet beneath his glistening wet shoes.

"I'm sorry. We…Esposito, Ryan and I got distracted and wanted a snow fight." Castle became distracted once again at the sight of Ryan standing near the stairwell, an enormous, mushy snow ball in his hands.

_Don't even think about it, _Castle mouthed to Ryan. _Or you'll be dead. _

_Seriously? Come on, man, what's life without a bit of fun? _Ryan mouthed back. Beckett tipped her head to stare at Castle as though he were some famous statue that people stood around and admired.

"Everything alright? Talking to oneself is one of the first signs of madness, you know," Beckett snapped.

"If I recall correctly," Castle said as he slowly sidestepped out of the line of fire, "I said that exact statement myself to you, not so long ago."

Esposito interrupted before Beckett stared daggers.

"Actually, this psychiatrist in the 1800s said that," Esposito said, cheerily.

Castle narrowed his eyes, "Maybe that was me in a past life. It'd explain why I'm surrounded by such nutcases," he muttered, receiving a sharp punch on the arm. Ryan chose to lodge the snowball at this moment, his police training behind the throw. Naturally, it was a direct hit. It slapped into Beckett's head, and disintegrated. Castle stood, shocked, frozen to the spot.

He gulped. _We're all going to die now. _

Beckett slowly turned around to see Ryan at his desk, shifting through papers.

"Castle. What, the hell, was that?" her voice neared an even more dangerous low, and Castle and had sudden visions of himself being dangled out the window by his feet.

"Don't ask me. It was Ryan," Castle said, pointing to the now empty desk on the far side the room. Castle spun around to see that the office was deserted.

_Now would be a good time to run. _

Castle started running towards the elevator, glancing behind him to see Beckett giving chase. He leapt over the plastic waiting chairs, and pulled himself over the couch on the far side. He could hear Beckett dodging the couch behind him, and decided to take a not-so-short short cut. Castle stylishly managed to get his shoes off mid stride, and knew that running in socks on floorboards would be an advantage. He skidded to a stop, and slid on hands and knees. Crawling beneath the table, he saw multiple scratch marks beneath the desk and reminded himself to occupy his mind by checking them out later. Suddenly he was free from the desk, and leapt over another chair, before accidently landing shoulder first on a swivel chair. His momentum carried the chair forward at a fast pace, and Castle regained his normal rightful sitting position. Only then did he realize he was at the top of the stairwell. The chair ricocheted off the first step with great speed and sent Castle hurtling down the stairs. He ended up face first into the wall, and broke through the thin plaster. Ryan saw all of this from his nifty position at the top of the stairs, just behind the adjoining wall.

"Haha. And that's for getting me in the face with a snowball," he chuckled.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry that I went so long without uploading. Just send me messages pestering me, and it should work. =] A short chapter again, but I'm happy with it. Hopefully this finds you all well and happy!**

Castle awoke lying on his back in the waiting room, an ice pack pressed to his face. He could see Beckett's manicured hand waving in the air, and the edge of Ryan's jacket.

"Exnuse ne, but cen you please leet ne breathe?" he gasped, trying to stop himself from suffocating under the packet of ice that smelt strangely of strong vinegar. Beckett whisked it away from his face, and Castle gulped in the sudden fresh air. He hesitated before laughing, remembering what had happened before the incident on the stairwell, and wondered if Beckett's intention had been to quietly murder him while pretending to help.

"Your idea of a joke, was it, Castle?" she demanded.

"Not mine," he gasped, "Ryan's."

"Oh, come on. It's time to own up to your actions." Beckett glared at Castle, warning him to get his act together.

"Fine. I did it. I have the amazing talent of getting behind you and throwing a snowball, while standing in front of you," Castle grumbled sarcastically, then pausing when he noticed Beckett looked surprised.

"Actually, how could you possibly _have _done it? You were in front of me..." she hesitated before yelling, "RYAN!"

Castle heard very soft footsteps approaching from behind him, a slight squeak and a very muffled cough.

"Detective?"

Beckett looked like she was ready to blow a fuse, as her eyes were narrowed and her hands tightly clenched together. "Did you throw that snowball? Tell the truth Ryan, you have to."

"Oh, alright. We meant it as a joke, and well..we got a little carried away."

"So you're admitting to doing it?"

"Yes. But the whole snowball fight was Castle's idea." Ryan pointed to the man lying back on the couch, who was attempting to slide off the couch and disappear through the floor.

He had no such luck. Beckett dismissed Ryan with a wave and a sigh, and turned to face Castle.

"What I am going to do with you?" she sighed, hands unclenched as she looked at her delicate fingers. Castle had the sudden feeling that he was a pet dog and Beckett was his owner, debating about whether to send him to the kennel while she went away or let the neighbours stop by to feed him. He glanced up, watching as Beckett sighed again.

"Maybe, pretty please, could you get me some lunch?" Castle instantly regretted saying it when he saw Beckett's reaction. He braced himself for the slap that he expected was coming, and was surprised when he didn't feel it. He looked up to see Esposito running through the office with Beckett on his heels, and Castle tried to suppress a laugh. Sometimes, he couldn't believe his luck.

Esposito had a report card in his hand; not the type you get from school, but the one containing the details of a murder. A homicide.

"I can't believe it," he yelled at Ryan as he approached his desk.

"Believe what?"

"There's been a murder."

"What? A murder? Seriously?"

Beckett grabbed Esposito's arm to see the page.

"You're not telling me..."

"I am."

Ryan looked puzzled, "telling who what?"

Castle poked his head around the door, in time to hear Beckett say the last few words.

"There's a body in our elevator."


	5. Chapter 5

Lanie was already in the basement when Beckett and her team arrived downstairs.

"What've we got?" she asked, snapping on the sterile white gloves. Castle followed suit, wincing as the tight gloves snapped back on his freezing cold hands. There were a few people standing around, mainly electricians trying to keep things safe and get them back to working order.

Lanie looked up as they approached, "Female, mid thirties, no ID or anything on her."

Ryan glanced at Esposito and Castle and together they all muttered, "Looks like a robbery gone wrong."

Lanie shook her head, trying to suppress the laughter, "no boys, she's still got her gold necklace on."

"Cause of Death?" Beckett asked, again trying to ignore Castle who was standing close to her side. She was tempted to step away, but he'd follow her. So she stood still.

"Strangulation marks around the neck and she seems to have a pretty high BAL." Castle nodded at the last phrase, feeling special that he knew the Blood Alcohol Level was also called BAL. He noted that Beckett gave him a sideways glance and then quickly looked away.

"So you're thinking that she might have had a fight that went sour?" Beckett queried.

"I'm thinking so, honey, or maybe she was taking drugs and got into a fight-" Lanie stopped midsentence as Castle interrupted.

"Got into a fight, then she ran here, in the process ditching her high heels," they all glanced down to see the barefoot woman lying in front of them, "then jammed her hands against the lift door, in the process losing any jewellery she might have been wearing, turned to see the to-be murderer following her." The whole room fell silent as Castle did what he was best at.

"Then as the man managed to get a hold on her neck to threaten her, she spun around, creating the looks of strangulation. She breathed in as deeply as she could and kicked him with as much force as she could manage, before leaping into the lift and releasing her breath when the doors shut. She made it up to the fifth floor before a sudden jolt alerted her to the fact that she wasn't alone. As she found it hard to breathe, the lights flickered and the lift plummeted to the endless depths of the building. No one would hear her silent screams for the next two days as she could barely speak..." Castle wound up, fiddling with the ends of his orange scarf as he stared at the dull light that was shining from the bare bulb in the basement.

Beckett sat at her desk, watching as Castle joked around with Esposito about the coffee machine.

"You two," she called as they spun around, "over here." They made their way over to her desk.

"Now, I want to see you, Esposito, tracking down this girls identity-"

Esposito interrupted, "I am. Still waiting for the resuts."

"Good. Now Castle, why don't you run along and get your latest book finished or something?"

Castle's eyes widened in surprise, before creasing back to their normal smile. "Where would the fun be in that?"

"Maybe not missing your deadline, for once?"

"Missing deadlines are _fun,_" he sat down next to her, staring intently into her eyes, "it's great fun to see how you can drive people insane by doing such small things."

"Fun? Driving people insane? You're the only person who could use those to words in one sentence."

Castle saw this as a compliment, "Well, thank you," he said with his sarcastic smile.

"Wasn't meant as a compliment," Beckett replied, turning back to her work. "Why don't you find something useful to do?"

Castle looked at her like he'd been given permission to go to a fun park. "I'll be back," he whispered, as he stood and raced towards the stairs, grabbing his coat on the way out. Beckett shook her head, trying not to think about what Castle had in mind.

Castle stood in front of the silver car, twisting the new shiny keys in his fingers. He knew Esposito and Ryan would die for a car like this. It went without saying that the NYPD was definitely in need of new cars, just no one wanted to admit it. Castle glanced to at the salesman to his right.

"I'll take it." He grinned, eyeing up the expensive price. Spending the money didn't matter to him, making people happy did. As he went off to fill out the paperwork, workers came to make sure the car was in complete working order and added the new plates that the strange man had specifically requested.

"Castle101," one of them read aloud, "who gets plates like that?"

"Maybe he's a fan of that writer - you know, the crime one?"

"Haha, probably." They polished the car, before slowly moving it outside for the new man to drive away in.

As Castle pulled into the carpark, curious glances were thrown his way, which he was expecting. The quiet purr of the engine was to die for, _no pun intended, _Castle laughed as he thought how Beckett would kill him for saying that out loud.

"Whoa, man! Castle, what is this?" Esposito stood in front of him, eyes wide with surprise. As Castle stepped out of the car, he threw the keys at Esposito.

"This, my friend, would be your new Homicide Division car." Esposito looked like he was about to pass out.

"Man, are you serious?"

"I am." Castle said with a massive smile.

"Whoa.." Esposito ran his hand across the shiny bonnet and worked his way to the inside of the car.

"This looks like something from the Bond movies," he gasped aloud in awe.

"It is. Well, sort of. It's a less dangerous model, but other than that, it's identical. Even to the 007 on the engine."

Esposito glanced up at Castle and raced round to the front to open the bonnet.

"Ryan's going to love this," he whispered, before racing over to the stairs.

"Thanks Castle, no one is ever going to forget you for this!"

As Esposito ran up the stairs, Castle smiled.


	6. Chapter 6

"You bought them a car," Beckett sat at her desk, pen in hand and looking lethal.

"Yes. Well. You told me to do something useful, so I did."

"You call that useful?"

"Oh, come on Kate, even you know they need new cars."

"I'm not even going to ask how much this is going to cost us."

"Nothing. Zilch. It's free! I bought it myself." Castle grinned at her surprised face. Beckett's jaw dropped as she saw the 5 digit number appearing in her head.

"Would this come with a price, as in, you buy the car, I give you classified info or something?"

Castle laughed, "No, but that's one damn good idea. I should have thought of that."

"Ouch. You're slipping, Castle," Beckett grinned, "better think a bit faster next time..."

"Aha, but I was thinking. I've got a plan."

"One of your harebrained ideas?"

"No. A real one. A _good _one that could help us catch our killer."

Beckett stood in the busy street, staring into the shop window. She couldn't believe that she'd let Castle talk her into this…seriously, what had she been thinking?

"Excuse me sir, can I help you?" a helpful shop assistant approached Castle.

"Oh, sure. I was wondering how much that bracelet would be. The one with the golden charms on in the shape of hearts."

"Well, it's quite a seller, that one! Had one go a few days ago…the girl seemed to like jewellery."

Beckett entered the shop upon hearing this – the clue she was looking for. She drifted closer to Castle and pretended to be interested in a brochure.

"I know a few girls like that…I was actually thinking of buying this for my girlfriend. But if she's already bought it…I don't know what I'm going to do!" Castle looked as though he was about to break into tears, and Beckett almost laughed. This guy was like a comedian. The shop assistant rubbed Castle's arm affectionately, trying to comfort him.

"If you give me a description of what she looks like, I could try and remember if she came in a couple of days ago. I've been working here, mainly on my own. Our other assistant left…actually, the day that bracelet was bought. He had this major fight with our manager over it. Wanted it for his own girlfriend or something."

Castle snuck a quick glance at Beckett. _Aha. Motive?_

"Um.." Castle sniffed, "around 5'8, brown curly hair about shoulder length. Probably had her green handbag with her, and was maybe wearing her red jacket? It's a favourite of hers."

The assistant stopped to think while Beckett turned away and began taking an interest in something else.

"Yeah..that actually sounds about right. With pearl earrings?"

"Yes! They were her favourite...bought them for her as our 2 month anniversary."

"Well, I'm sorry to say that she already bought that bracelet – although I can say that your girlfriend has fine taste!"

"Ah well. I'll just have to find something else to get her. Thank you so much for this. Means a lot."

Castle pretended to wipe his eyes and then left the shop. A few minutes later, Beckett re-joined him outside Starbucks.

"Wow. Didn't know you had it in you, Castle."


	7. Chapter 7

Back at the office, Beckett sat deep in thought. She kept sneaking glances at Castle, who seemed to be sitting and…well, staring at a wall.

"Can I ask what you're doing? You've been sitting there all morning. Staring at the wall." Beckett got up and moved nearer to Castle.

He grinned, "Well, the way I see it – walls are going for thinking. They're plain and empty and don't disrupt your thoughts."

Beckett tried not to laugh, "That would be quite a good answer, Castle, but there are pictures on this wall. How does that make it plain?" The giggle left her mouth.

"Aha, there she goes, laughing again. Sometimes creativity is inspired by simple things. And these pictures, well, they're not simple, but they're nice."

At this, Beckett snorted. "Nice? Are you feeling alright? They're photos of the building construction."

Castle tapped his fingers against the wall. "Yes. And that's just what I'm looking for. Or should I say, looking at." With a quick sideways grin, he shuffled his feet and resumed his staring. Beckett returned to her desk, shaking her head.

* * *

Esposito jogged into the office, waving a page of paper.

"They got her ID – Maria Turnell, 34 years old. Lived just a few streets from her. No criminal record, unless you count calling 911 for "being lost."" Esposito handed the page to Beckett, then whispered to her. "Any reason why Castle's staring at a wall?"

"Apparently it helps him think," she whispered back, trying to withhold the laugh in her mouth. Unfortunately it escaped into a muffled snort-like laugh. Esposito roared with laughter and Castle turned around to see what the commotion was about.

"Ooh. Funny murders, I like them," he paused, "No, wait. You're laughing at me, aren't you?" Castle tried to keep a straight face, but couldn't and when Ryan walked in 5 minutes later, he was greeted with the scene of his three workmates hunched over a desk, howling with laughter.

* * *

Beckett stood outside the dark entrance to the house of Maria Turnell, the steps cracked with paint peeling. A cold wind whipped through the area, blowing paint chips to the ground.

"Okay," deep breaths, Beckett murmured, rubbing her arms to warm up, "you can do this. You've done it heaps of times before."

"Talking to oneself is the first si-"

"First sign of madness, yeah, I know," Beckett sighed, not turning around to look at Castle.

"Wow. You actually listened to me," he sounded awestruck.

"Well, it's a little hard not to when you never shut up," she allowed herself a quick grin, straightened her jacket, slowly raised her hand and knocked on the door.


	8. Chapter 8

The knocks echoed within the hollow wood of the door. The front step was dark, and Beckett couldn't resist the shudder that shook her body.

"Cold?" Castle queried, about to take off his jacket.

Beckett looked to her feet. "No. Just a bad feeling."

Castle nodded, the unspoken words between them hanging in the cold air. Castle turned in a circle, thrust his hands deep into his pockets and stared at the view of the city. Beckett knocked again, this time speaking, "NYPD."

Castle wandered down the steps and over towards the driveway, normal grey cement. No car was parked in the driveway and the flowers were fighting a losing battle against the weeds in the flowerbed.

"No answer?" He called to Beckett.

"No. I'm going round the back to check it out. You're coming with me," she grabbed his jacket sleave.

"Whoa, what brought on this change?" Castle laughed. "A few months ago you handcuffed me to the car to stop me following you."

"Don't think of it as a compliment, Castle. I don't trust you on your own. I'd rather you be where I can see you."

"Oh."

"Not what you were expecting, huh?"

"No, I was thinking more along the lines that you had finally begun to trust me and saw me as a valuable asset to the NYPD team."

"In your dreams, Castle." Beckett rolled her eyes as she pushed the back gate open.

"Wow. Great security," Castle commented, looking around at the lack of locks or security fences.

"You live in an apartment, how is that more secure?" Beckett queried, almost stopping.

"Well, for starters, I have security cameras. Trained on the door from inside. And there's some secret things around the place that you don't need to know about."

"Castle!"

Castle jumped. "What?"

"Are they legal?"

"Of course they are! What do you take me for?"

"You? Well you're unpredictable."

"Thanks."

"Castle, quiet."

"Sorry."

"Don't say sorry."

"Sor-."

* * *

Beckett pushed the gate open, her gun raised. She motioned to Castle to be quiet, spinning quickly to survey the house. The window leading into what appeared to be the lounge room was smashed, glass shards scattered across the wooden decking. Beckett slowly motioned for Castle to follow her, then handed him a spare gun.

She leant in close and whispered to him, "This isn't a toy. Don't aim and pull the trigger unless you want to blow something apart. Please, don't aim it towards your feet or anything stupid."

Castle nodded quickly, his mind far away from his body. He was James Bond, 007 Agent. He slinked towards the back door, quietly placing his feet around the glass.

Beckett pushed the door.

It opened.

She stepped in quickly, gun raised.

Castle followed.

Beckett led the way through the lounge, holding the door towards the bedroom open. It was dark and smelt stale.

Beckett motioned for Castle to follow her, and then she entered the room. Castle raised his gun, quickly turning to survey their backs before he stepped through the doorway. He saw a shadow shift quickly on the lounge room floor, and poked Beckett hard in the arm. She didn't turn instantly, as she was motioning towards the walk in wardrobe on the other side the room. Castle shook his head urgently, before running quietly out the room.

"CASTLE!" Beckett whispered loudly.

Castle quickly stepped towards the bookcase, then surveyed the room. He saw the shadow, which led to a leg. Castle's eyes followed the body, and then he saw the hand of the body over the edge of the couch.

The hand held a gun.

Aimed in his direction.

Castle fired on instinct, the bullet slicing the through the air and straight into the leg. The person moved sideways, the torso hitting the floor.

"NYPD! DROP ALL WEAPONS!" Beckett ran into the room, before noticing castle.

"YOU?"

"Me?" Castle squeaked, his hands raised in a protest of innocence.

"Are you okay? Who fired the sho-"

At this point, Beckett noticed the body on the floor.

"Oh my god Castle, you SHOT SOMEONE," she shouted.

"It was an accident! I saw the leg, the hand with the gun, which is aimed towards me, and I fired. I'm sorry!"

Beckett went to inspect the body, bending quickly to inspect the pulse.

"He's dead, Castle."

"I KILLED SOMEONE?" Castle wailed.

Beckett sighed. "No, he was already dead. Relax."

"But it moved. I saw the shadow. It moved," Castle's words shook.

Beckett stood again. "He hasn't been dead long. Body's still warm, so it was probably the body just moving. As they do."

"Wait. You're saying the dead move?"

"No Castle. I said that the body just adjusts, you know, like when you pass out. Your body falls to the floor. You don't stay on your feet."

"Oh. That!" Castle laughed with relief.

"Hey, relax." Beckett moved towards him, rubbing him softly on the arm. "You didn't kill anyone, and you acted on instinct. What made you look around?"

"I don't know, bad gut feeling, I guess."

"I did check."

"I know, I saw that. Just when you walked into the bedroom, I felt this urge to double check our backs."

Beckett smiled, her tired eyes warming.

"Good job, Castle. If he'd been alive, you could have very well just saved our . Let's head back to the precinct, and grab a warm coffee. We'll get Lanie down here right away, but first you need to get your head back on this planet." She gave Castle a quick hug, before guiding him gently towards the back door.


End file.
